Most of you that read these pages will have never heard of the name of Fr. George Papadeas but we all owe him a very large debit of gratitude. Fr. George is the first one, I believe, that translated the Holy Week book, affectionately known as the quarter pounder, into English. This was no simple task but one that I am grateful he took the time to do.
Fr. George will rank up there in the collective memory of Orthodox in the English speaking world along side of Isabel Hapgood for giving us the Liturgy and other Liturgical books in the English Language.
With all of the works now available to us in English it is hard to think of a time when these books did not exists. We need to be profoundly thankful too pioneers like Fr. George and others who made it their mission to provide these works in English.
Based on information in his obituary, he was the first Greek Orthodox Priest ordained in the United States! He also founded two mission parishes. He bridged the gap between Greek speakers and non Greek speakers and was able to grow the church in ways that would not have been possible.
Please take a moment and read the obituary of Fr. George. May His Memory be Eternal!
I met Fr. George two times. He started a mission parish in Florida where my parents attended when they first moved there. He was in the first graduating class of HCHC. When he heard that I had graduated from there also, he immediately invited me to give the sermon that Sunday. As a layperson who does not get many opportunities to use some of the ministerial skills and knowledge that I acquired during my time in seminary, I was incredibly grateful. He gave me one of his books as a small gift—a wonderful translation of the Akathist to the Theotokos. Although he was close to 90 years old at the time, he was still going strong. He had a vision of the church that respected his Greek ethnic heritage, but looked to plant the faith here in America and minister to the faithful here and now. May his memory be eternal.